The Choice is Yours
by TheYukiii
Summary: Adam has been given a fifth choice, but the damage to his mental health and his person has limited him to a minor shadow. Forced into a psychiatric program he meets a woman who despite all odds gets under his skin, but their scars are deep. He has to find a way to either live with himself or pull the trigger and take with him into the grave the great secret that everybody wants.
1. Preface

**A/N - I was recently ask to translate this FF into English (from Danish) and publish it here. I hope you like it and if you want me to continue please review and add this to your story alert :) I don't to translate an entire story for one person as long as I know that they are enjoying it.**

**It is rated M due to violent actions and sexual content later. But most of it will be like a rated T story.  
**

**This is only a preface and the story itself is rather long but I find myself that it has certain elements that I missed in the post-game experience. Like what if Adam had another choice to back to the normal world.  
**

**Please enjoy.  
**

* * *

"What do you choose?" Eliza Cassan's voice leaves echoes in his ears. "Please choose."

"I don't think I can." Adam answered as he looks at the bottoms. There are three before him and one at the end of a corridor to the side. "It isn't my choice to make." But for some reason, Adam was one of the few who could.

"It is." Eliza replies. Ironically, she sounds more human when broadcasting and more robotic when not. Adam frowns. Eliza explained that Darrow's message reveals the whole truth behind recent events (including the Illuminati's involvement), warning of the dangers of augmentation and urging humanity to cast it aside. "Is this what you will choose?" She asked and he shacked his head.

David Sarif has a different message in mind and wants to frame Humanity Front for the signal broadcast, thus turning the tide against the purists and paving the way for further development of augmentation technology. "Is this what you will choose?" She asked. He rolled his eyes.

Bill Taggart (who represented the Illuminati) wanted to expose most of the truth behind recent events, excluding any reference to the Illuminati's involvement, thus leading to increased regulation of augmentation technology and therefore a significant reduction to the threat it poses to the Illuminati's continued control.

Adam sighed deeply. There was also a fourth option as Eliza explained: it would cause the Panchaea facility to self-destruct, thus killing all of the gathered world leaders there - Sarif, Taggart, Darrow, and even Adam himself. This would free mankind and allow it to make up its own mind about augmentation, without anyone spinning events to further their own agenda.

"You are asking me to play God." He tries to control his temper. He wasn't used to been trapped. The world and its people flashed before his revival as he stared into the computer program that was Eliza Cassan. Despite not being an actual human being, Eliza seemed to have a fair range of emotions, such as what could be described as confusion and shame that she had helped and assisted in hiding the Sarif scientists.

"God." Eliza nods.

"There must be another solution!" He bursts out, stirring into the screen. "I'm not afraid of dying but I sacrifice other people so mankind can forget." He paused. "It is not my place to judge."

She pauses. "Would you then have the strength to carry mankind's burden in your shoulders?"

"What?"

"I can give you a fifth choice."

"And what would that contain." He narrowed his eyes as they were hidden behind the black shades.

"You. Just you." Eliza answered.

* * *

"Jensen!" Somebody yelled his name into his ear. He doesn't even try to open his eyes. "Jensen! Where are you?! Answer me!" The sound of Pritchard's voice made him groan as he tried to take in his surroundings.

"Pritchard?" His voice was lower than he expected.

"Jensen? Thank God! Are you alright?" Adam doesn't say anything at first but coughs as he tried to sit up. He was still in the control room. Had he passed out? "Jensen! Talk to me!"

"Keep your voice down." Adam snared a little. He had a massive headache and the room was showered with light. "Pritchard?" He says as he frowns. "Am I still on the Panchaea?"

"Yes you are. Had you expected to be somewhere else?" The tech said and Adam could sense his smile.

"I am not sure." He answered as he tried to stand.

"Jensen? What happened? I lost your signal for two minutes after afterwards you didn't react." Pritchard asked in a concerted voice. Adam looked down at his augmented fingers, trying to move them, but he couldn't.

"Pritchard, I think that some of my augment parts are damaged. Can you run a check from where you are?" Adam's voice can't hide the sudden fear that has attacked his body and for a moment even Francis is silent. "Pritchard? Pritchard are you there?"

"Yes. Oh yes I'm sorry. Give me a moment." Adam could hear the keys on Pritchard's keyboard as he awaited for the results. "Jensen?" Pritchard said suddenly.

"Yes?"

"Do you feel hot?"

Adam frowned for a moment. "What?"

"According to my reading you have been in connection with a lot of electrics. Some of your minor parts are fried." Pritchard explained. "How are you feeling?"

"It feels like I have some serious hangovers." Now that Pritchard mentioned it Adam began to feel the heat. "Can you send me some co-ordinances so I can find a way out of here?" He asked.

"Can't you just go back from where you came?" Pritchard asked.

Adam swallowed and almost whispered. "I… I can't remember the way…" Five seconds later the exit co-ordinance was on display in his glasses. Lucky that they were still working as he with unsure steps followed the small arrows on his screen. Five steps later he had to sit down on the floor. Exhaustion hit him like a baseball bat in the head as he knew that this would be a challenge. "Pritchard?"

"Yes?"

"Is the others still alive?" His voice was raw.

"You mean Sarif and the others? Yes they are." He made a small pause. "They are outside on the platform waiting for you."

"Roger that." He tried to stand again. Zhao's body was still lying on the floor and Adam could to a small extent smell her burned flesh. For a moment he wanted to take a deep breath but decided not to. What had happened to him? He couldn't remember what he had done for last couple of hours. Of course he thought to himself. He had been unconscious. As he walked he looked down a corridor he felt an urged need to scream, this feeling that something unexplainable was wrong. It brought him back to the time he had been augmented. "No, no, no." He said to himself. "Not now." The pain he had felt was strong and heavy, but compared to this it was nothing. He wasn't only aching physically but only mentally.

Walking down the corridor the radio system suddenly started. Somebody was trying to say something, but the signal was too bad to make anything coherent out of it. He sat down again, fearing that he would faint if he didn't. His hands were beginning to shake. Maybe it was the adrenaline in his body he was reacting to? His head started to hurt even more as he tried to move it from side to side. God his body was stiff. He could barely move. Maybe if he crawled? He felt pathetic just thinking about it but he really didn't have much of a choice.

A choice? That word suddenly hunted his mind and widened his eyes as a small series of pictures flashed before his eyes. He made a choice before he feel unconscious, but what was it? The images didn't have a theme or any specific connection to his person but he suddenly felt… sad… lost… unable? What was this? He needed to get out of there. When he finally reached the platform outside his legs cracked under him and he fell to the ground surface, leaving a big sound of augmentations smashing against the metal surface. "Adam!" The sound had caught some ones attention.

He tried to look up but he couldn't. "Boss?" He voice was low, almost like it was out of battery. His face was against the ground and he began to feel his body getting hotter despite the fact that it was snowing. "Pritchard?! It is getting warmer…! Do something!" He shouted in his microphone, causing the few people around him to step back.

"I can't! Your augmentations aren't reacting!" Pritchard answered in panic. "Try and roll on to your back!"

"Adam!" It was David's voice again. He and two others turned Adam so he was lying on his back, facing up in the sky.

His arms feel dead to the ground. He couldn't move, paralyzed, helpless as an infant. "Pritchard… It is.. getting harder… to… breath…." His raw voice had special tone to it. It was fear. He wanted to move his hand to his chest, but couldn't. Nothing wanted to move.

"Adam, listen to me." David said in horror as he watching his chief of security lying on the ground. "The helicopter is on its way. Stay with us!" The ex-swat didn't answer but could feel his body letting go and he was unconscious once more.


	2. In the end He woke up alone

**A/N: **

**First, thank you for all the reviews and story fav/alerts. Thanks to: DeathAngelWings, Heioghaa, Potatka and Ghosthic Satane. The motivation is wonderful. **

**Second to answer questions: No, I don't have a link to the Danish original any more. The site was shut down which is the reason I was asked translate it. **

**Third: The chapters may come and go as they want. The problem with translating is that you can't translate certain kinds of humour and words/slang. Some scenes from the original version has to be placed in another order and made it more confusing for me. This takes time and I try to do it as best as I can. (You will find that this chapter maybe is a little lame (if you don't please let me know) because I had to erase a whole argument (as a scene) due to the translation problems.) English is my fourth language (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian then English) out of seven that I speak so I'm maybe a little slow. So grammar mistake unfortunately will happen.**

**Fourth: If any of you would like to be beta reader on this story you are very welcome. My usually beta reader hasn't played Deus EX HR so she don't know anything about the world. :)**

**Fifth: When word or sentences are in italics it means that it is Adams thoughts.**

**Other then that I hope you like the chapter I will start on the next :) Please enjoy and let me know if you liked it or anything else.**

* * *

_From last time:  
_

_His arms feel dead to the ground. He couldn't move, paralyzed, helpless as an infant. "Pritchard… It is.. getting harder… to… breath…." His raw voice had special tone to it. It was fear. He wanted to move his hand to his chest, but couldn't. Nothing wanted to move._

_"Adam, listen to me." David said in horror as he watching his chief of security lying on the ground. "The helicopter is on its way. Stay with us!" The ex-swat didn't answer but could feel his body letting go and he was unconscious once more._

First there was silence and darkness. Complete and absolutely silence. Not even the wind would or could have marked its presence if possible. He couldn't feel or move anything. Was he dead? No, he couldn't be. After all the crap he had been through he couldn't just have died. Or could he? The thought had crossed his mind. This was the second time he was in a deep sleep, not knowing why. This was his second time escaping the embrace of death. Like a physical object could only be in one place at one time. Einstein proved that. Reality was utterly coolheaded and utterly lonely.

He suddenly heard noises from far, far away and he tried his best to hear what it was. "_Hello_!" He yelled. "_Is anybody there_?!" _Don't panic Jensen_, he thought to himself and suddenly the voices became clearer.

"As you can see Mr. Sarif." The voice made a short pause. "Mr. Jensen is still in a coma. It is still too early to say if he will wake up on his own." The voice behold to a female. He didn't recognize it. What a moment… coma? "His brain activities are normal for this type of condition."

"You mean non activity at all. It has been a month." Adam's boss said in a minor pleased tone. "We really need him to wake up."

"I understand Mr. Sarif, but we still can't find the cause of his injuries. The results tell us that he had encountered a massive shock wave and electrical elements and since the Panchaea self-destructed… We can't be sure what happened. If we begin to medicate him now, it could have seriously consequences."

"I know." David sighed deeply. The door to the room opened and closed shortly again. "Oh Megan?" He said.

_Megan? _The name echoed in Adam's otherwise silent mind. Not from adoration as it used to but from… anger? Betrayal? What was she doing there? A small pain in his chest started to surface and he felt like someone had stabbed him. All the guards or soldiers in the world could easily have shout or kill him, but that woman…

"Hello David. How is our man?" Her voice tells Adam that she already knows the answer. _Our man?_ _Ones your man Megan Reed_. Or was she ever in love with him? Adam suddenly started to wonder how she got a hold of his DNA. His blood started to boil but he couldn't move.

"He is the same." David answered sighing. "I knew that something was wrong when I saw him on the platform, but coma for a month?"

"It wasn't your fault David." Megan tried to reassure her boss.

The doctor interrupted them. "Due to the hematoma he had some months ago we are careful not doing anything to risky." The female doctor explained. "Maybe tomorrow." She finally said and something in that sentence sounded rehearsed and out of habit to Adam. The cyborg could hear the doors opening and close again shortly after.

"What if he doesn't wake up again David?" Megan asked and Adam could hear that she sounded sad. Adam could feel her touching his cheek briefly. _Don't touch me…!_ He hissed inside of himself. _You stay away from me!_

David sighed. "It is too early to say. Come. Let me buy you a cup of coffee. It is in the middle of the night."

The sound of footsteps signaled that they left the room and the doors opened and closed again. He started to count. _One… Two… Three… Move…_ Nothing happened. _One… Two… Three… Move…_ again nothing happened. Last time. _One… Two… Three… Move…_ His finger…! It moved! From his fingers to his wrist and to his elbows.

His eyes suddenly opened and he looked around without moving his head. Even his eyes felt different as he winced at the bright lighting overhead and took in the familiar room of a hospital. A hospital room, quiet out of standards with high ceilings, grey walls and an open window which made it look like a morgue. The machines around him were silent but some of the buttons were blinking in different colors. He narrowed his eyes and moved his neck. He had survived death… again. He wasn't sure if he was confused, but one thing was sure. He wanted to get out.

The muscles of his face tightened, pulling in several directions at once and emphasizing the lack of symmetry in the overall structure after a mouth in coma. Deep wrinkles formed in his skin, his augmented eyes suddenly drew inward, his nose and mouth became violently distorted, his jaw twisted to the side, and his lips curled back, exposing Adam's large white teeth. Instantly, he became a wholly different person, as if a cord had broken, dropping the mask that normally covered his face.

He tried to raise his stiff upper body from the bed and it was easier then he thought. His augmentations worked as they should when he stepped out of the bed and walked out the door, knowing that he could easily be followed. The rest of his body protested however. Adam thought hard, arranging everything in order of priority. He needed hardly any time to reach a conclusion. He was dressed in hospital clothing which was a pale piece of fabric. When he reached the stairs he decided to go to his apartment. Hopefully he would be save there. His apartment was located in the Detroit Chiron Building.

The streets were also soundless except from a lonely taxi. He stopped for a moment. The taxi's radio was tuned to a FM broadcast and played old songs. Linkin Park was probably not the ideal music to hear in a taxi stopping for red in the traffic. The middle-aged driver didn't seem to be listening very closely, either. With his mouth clamped shut, he stared straight ahead at the endless line of parked cars stretching out on the streets, like a veteran fisherman standing in the bow of his boat, reading the ominous confluence of two currents. Adam walked passed it but could still hear the music.

How many people could recognize Linkin Park after hearing just the first few bars? Probably somewhere between "very few" and "almost none." It was an old song after all. But for some reason, Adam was one of the few who could. The song was called _in the end _and some of the parts in the song reminded him deeply about Megan.

I've put my trust in you  
Pushed as far as I can go  
For all this  
There's only one thing you should know  
I've put my trust in you  
Pushed as far as I can go…

He had been 6-7 years old when that song was released. _But in the end, it doesn't even matter… _It sounded from the taxi before it drove away.

It made him realize how little he had knew her and how bitter it made him to actually found out that she was still alive. She had lied, deceived and betrayed his trust. His affection towards her had disappeared completely. It didn't take him long to walk even though he was sore and tired. He needed to be alone as the images on his retina started to show. What was this? People? Faces? Places? Animals? Situations? He wasn't sure. Was this even reality? He felt like a drug addicted, struggling to keep his cool. The streets outside the hospital were deserted if one didn't count the prostitutes there were standing on several corners. He reached his apartment building and he looked over his shoulders. Had he become more paranoid?

There was no one as he entered the building, and took the elevator. He opened his apartment door, again there was a silence but it smelled the same. The apartment was nicely accommodated with a large, open room with an open kitchenette, large windows opposite the entryway overlooking the city. _Detroit is a sleep,_ he thought. He walked into his bedroom, stripping himself from the hospital cloths and turned on the water. His bedroom was connected to the bathroom. There still was the broken mirror that Adam destroyed in a fit of rage after his mechanical augmentation surgery. His head was slightly propped up so he saw the enhancements. They were top of the line, expensive augments. There was barely any of him left. His arm, parts of his spine, some of his main arteries and from his knees and down. All augmentations and enhancements. It made him sick. He turned on the water in the bath and started to shower. Dirt and sweat started to fall of his body and he took his body wash, hoping to clear himself. Jensen let his head fall back down in exasperation.

Water used to be refreshing to the body and soul but his soul didn't find rest. _What happened on at Panchaea?_ His mind wanted to travel back in time, wanting to know what happened. Eyes closed and to the sound of the water his mind went back to a month ago.

* * *

"You. Just you." Eliza answered.

Jensen had agreed to try and shut down the signal. He remembered that Megan had urged him. Most people at Panchaea had either been driven insane by the signal or been killed by those who had been. "Me?"

Eliza nodded once. "Yes."

"I don't understand." His accent worked on overtime as he folded his arms, trying to look on top of the situation. He shook his head, suddenly remembered the last hour. Jensen had made his way to the control room and confronted Hugh Darrow. Darrow insisted that humanity had taken his gift of augmentation technology and twisted it, and he had altered the biochip signal as a way of showing that the technology was dangerous and that mankind needed to evolve without it. Darrow urged Jensen to allow his message to the world to expose the Illuminati and everything that had happened. After hearing Darrow's arguments, Jensen descended to the lowest levels of the facility to shut down the insanity signal.

At the very bottom of the facility, Jensen had found the Hyron Core, a quantum computer which used human drones as living processors. Zhao had appeared and connected herself to the Hyron system, intent on altering Darrow's signal for the Illuminati's benefit. However, the system rejected her biochip, and in an attempt to gain control, Zhao activated the core's defenses, turning them on Jensen. Jensen was forced to destroy the human drones and kill Zhao. With Zhao gone, Jensen accessed the broadcast control room.

Here, Jensen was contacted by Eliza Cassan, who gave him the option of sending Darrow's recorded confession - warning the public of the potential danger of transhumant augmentations; Edit it, according to Sarif's suggestion, and blame the Humanity Front for their collaboration in producing the biochip - denouncing the anti-augmentation movement to the public; Edit it, according to Taggert's suggestion, and blame the chaos on contaminated neuropozyne from Versalife, erasing any information about the Illuminati - urging the public to demand regulation on augmentation research; Or destroy Panchea by turning off its water pressure control system, killing everyone on the base and destroy all information - leaving the public unaware of any truth. Unable to choice any of these Eliza then gave him a fifth choice, but he couldn't remember what it was.

Standing in his shower, behind his closed eyes he could see Eliza's lips move, saying something that made him gasp. Why couldn't he remember what she said? Was it a dream? A headache started to make its way into his skull. What was the fifth choice? Christ! This was frustrating. He turned off the water and picked up a towel, wondering if they had discovered that he had disappeared from his hospital bed. Walking out of the bathroom with the towel around his waist he sat down in his office chair. He took a cigarette, enlightened it and took a huge drag. The smoke travelled down to his lungs and he immediately felt the nicotine kicking in. He relaxed slowly for the first time since he woke up from his coma. His computer screen was black but not turned off. He touched the mouse and the screen powered up. Starting up his e-mail program he narrowed his eyes. Five mails in his inbox but one caught his eyes. It was from Eliza Cassan.

**From:** Eliza Cassan

**To:** Adam Jensen

**Subject:** Erasing

Dear Mr. Jensen.

When you read this e-mail all evidence of what happened at the Panchea platform have be destroyed. Your choice of solution requests that you and only you knows what happened. Even my data will be deleted after this mail has is sent. The result of your choice means that your mind will be playing tricks on you and it will kill you, but slow and painful if you choice to fight against it. I can't guarantee that you will survive but make sure that you settle your unfinished business before the symptoms takes over your mind.

Remember that you have all the answers now and you made a choice. You can't undo or regret it. The next choice will also be yours and I hope that you find a way.

/Eliza Cassan

_It wasn't a dream! _ He gasped and widened his eyes at the screen. Was his mind playing tricks? What did she mean? Did she mean the images? What was the option? Adam reflected different aspects of his experience, along with his hopes and fears of the future. He buried face in his hands. He suddenly heard voices coming from his living room and he grabbed a pistol from his top drawer. "Maybe he is in here!" A voice shouted from the living room. _Wait…?_ He knew that voice. It belonged to David Sarif, his boss. He lowered his gun as he entered the living room.


	3. When something never becomes the same

**A/N Hi everyone, thank you for your patience. Thanks to Heioghaa and LoveandScience for their lovely reviews. A special thanks to LoveandScience who was so kind to edited it and check it for mistakes. *sending a lot of hearts* I hope you enjoy to chapter and I will see you guys in the near future :) Please leave a review or comment on your thoughts because it gives me a lot of motivation.**

* * *

_It wasn't a dream! He gasped and widened his eyes at the screen. Was his mind playing tricks? What did she mean? Did she mean the images? What was the option? Adam reflected different aspects of his experience, along with his hopes and fears of the future. He buried face in his hands. He suddenly heard voices coming from his living room and he grabbed a pistol from his top drawer. "Maybe he is in here!" A voice shouted from the living room. Wait…? He knew that voice. It belonged to David Sarif, his boss. He lowered his gun as he entered the living room._

Everyone in the room gasped as Adam, in full figure, stepped into his living room from his office, dressed only in a towel from the waist down. _What a welcoming committee_, Adam thought as he walked into the room, avoiding any eye contact. They were no doubt gasping at the amount of augmentation attached to his body. The light of the sunrise streamed through his windows, casting shadows in their faces. Adam stayed silent as his shades covered his eyes. "Adam! You gave us a shock by wandering away from the hospital." David said in a loud voice and walked towards him. The ex-SWAT stepped back, which made his boss stop. "Adam, are you okay?"

"Stop," the cyborg said, and looked around the room. There were at least seven men, including David. Had there ever been so many people in his living room at once before? "Don't come closer," he stated, as he secured his gun and laid it on a small table close to the window. He didn't trust his boss, but he didn't want to kill him either. Walking through the room, up the stairs and up to the kitchen, he took out a small glass and poured himself a glass of bourbon. Adam opened his refrigerator and examined its contents. He hadn't been shopping for a month, so there wasn't much to see. From his freezer, he then took an ice cube and gently placed it in the glass. He took the glass in his hands, shaking it a little, and took a small sip. _Mmm… Bourbon… _"You can all leave now," Adam started, taking another small sip. "I'd like some privacy. I haven't been home in a month, according to my calendar." His voice was raw and the tone made it clear that the topic wasn't up for discussion.

Sarif waved the men out of the room, leaving the cyborg alone with his boss. Adam took his glass of Bourbon and walked down to his couch, sat and lit another cigarette. The footsteps of his boss could be heard in the background as his front door closed. "Adam?" David sounded nervous.

"Yes," the cyborg simply said in a tone without a question mark. He wasn't interested in a conversation, and he felt his blood boil. His boss knew that Megan had used his DNA to find a miracle for the stop of glial tissue forming after augmentation surgery. What to make of that? He raised his glass suddenly. "I'd like to bring a toast to people's bosses and ex-girlfriends who use ones DNA," he said savagely, but in a low voice. "And not telling it before it is too late," Adam continued, as another zip of Bourbon found its way to his mouth. It tasted good and matched his mood. David didn't say anything as Adam finished his glass. Standing up, he turned to face his boss. "Do you have any idea how fucked up this is?" Adam asked as he held his glass with his augmented fingers.

David sighed in that way only he could. "Adam, we…"

The cyborg held up a finger, indicating that he didn't want to hear anything. "Boss, I have been in a coma for a month." He (not sure what verb is intended here)stirred at the elder man as he walked towards the big windows, watching Detroit waking up. "I have been asleep and believe me, to wake up finding out that the world has functioned as it usually has… is not relaxing." He paused. "There is a lot of unfinished businesses I have to take care of, and…"

He almost didn't get to finish his sentence as a woman came running into the living room from the front door. "Adam…?" It was Megan. Adam stood frozen on the spot as his ex-girlfriend stood beside his boss. His eyes widened, almost painfully, and his grip around the empty glass tightened. "You are awake…" she almost sounded relieved.

"Get out," Adam hissed shortly, not taking his eyes from Megan. His eyes narrowed slowly, fiery, as was the expression in his face.

She widened her eyes, shocked. "Adam, I…"

"GET OUT!" he snapped, and threw his glass into the back wall of the living room. The glass smashed from the wall and fell noisily to the floor. Megan shivered as David raised both his hands as a sign to Adam to calm down. The cyborg clenched his teeth. "Get out… now…!" He removed his gaze from her, breathing deeply, and closed his eyes. His headache suddenly returned, and the images flashed before his eyes. He placed his hands on either side on his head. _Stop… _Adam screamed inside his mind. His knees fell to the floor.

"Adam?!" Both Megan and David exhaled and ran to his side, trying to stabilize him.

"Get out of my head…!" Adam yelled as images of humans in various shapes and moods ran before his eyes, not knowing why he thought he knew them. The fictional humans in his vision raised hands toward him, crying faces. Who are they? What do they want?

Adam opened his eyes, feeling uncomfortable and still in his apartment, but on the floor. "Mr. Jensen?" an unknown man asked.

"Mm..?" He mumbled as he tried to sit up and noticed that he was covered with a blanket. The unknown man turned out to be a paramedic. Adam got to his feet again and said that he just wanted to be alone. "I have to advise you, Mr. Jensen, to go with us to the hospital so we can have you checked out. You passed out. I would like to have a colleague look at you."

Adam smirked. "Haven't your colleagues looked enough at me over the last month?" Adam suddenly looked up towards his kitchen where he saw Megan crying at an unknown man's shoulder. He couldn't see his boss. He narrowed his eyes.

"She is a little shocked, but she will be okay," the paramedic said. Adam didn't answer. The cyborg sighed and agreed to go to the hospital on the condition that Megan or David didn't come. He couldn't stand looking at or hearing either of them. He felt so betrayed, so hurt and empty. After getting dressed, he went to the hospital along with the paramedics. The clock told him that it was past midnight. He had been out for hours, he thought. It was sunrise when he had one of his images attack (do you mean the image attacked him, or is this a repeated "image attack" that he has on a regular basis?).

At the hospital, a psychiatrist examined him and another doctor checked his physical status. The doctor couldn't contain his surprise as Adams electronics limbs worked as they should. It was clear that it wasn't what he had expected. Physically, Adam was fine, but he found it hard to concentrate and focus on anything. Even eating seemed to give him a headache. The cyborg was hospitalized for three days before it was decided that he should be seen by a psychiatrist. Adam agreed to that, hoping that it could help, but thinking about what Eliza had said, he sighed deeply.

_I can't guarantee that you will survive, but make sure that you settle your unfinished business before the symptoms takes over your mind. Remember that you have all the answers now and you made a choice. You can't undo or regret it. The next choice will also be yours and I hope that you find a way._

He moved back to his apartment where he was officially on sick leave again from Sarif Industries_. More sick leave_, he mumbled, on a usual Thursday morning under the shower after his morning training. He had his first appointment with the psychiatrist that day, but all that could make him relax was either sleeping medicine or a cold shower. Walking out of the shower, he took a large blue towel and draped it around his waistline to cover his naked body. His mirror had finally been replaced. It had happened while he was hospitalized for the second time. His reflected face was ashen and pale as he started to dry himself with the blue beach towel.

For a moment, he remembered his mother… Emmm… his adoptive mother, who would drape a towel around him when he had been in a bath. If she saw him now… like this? He felt ashamed as he got dressed, covering most of his body. She would have thought that had failed as a mother if she saw his augmentation. Only his neck, head and his augmented hands were visible. He grabbed his wallet and cell phone, putting them into his pockets, his shades covering his eyes before leaving the semi-lit apartment, which in a way didn't feel like home anymore. It never really had.

The location for his appointment was downtown. He wandered aimlessly through the streets as the morning became afternoon, sometimes talking to himself or shaking his head. There were a lot of people in the streets that morning. Some shopping, some arguing and no matter where he looked, he felt lonely like never before. A little girl in the front seat of a black BMW stuck her head out of her window and stared, open-mouthed, at Adam as he passed by. Then she turned to her mother and asked, "Mommy, what is wrong with that man? Where's he going? I want to get out and walk too." The mother responded to her cries in silence, shaking her head and shooting an accusatory glance at the cyborg. The shocking transformation terrified anyone who saw his body, so he was careful never to show it off in the presence of a stranger. He would contort his face only when he was alone or when he was threatening someone who displeased him.

After one meeting with an obscenely dull (dull if you mean boring) old man who turned out to be a psychiatrist, Adam was sent to his next appointment at the hospital. It was late afternoon, hot and extremely sterile(not quite sure of word intent). He followed the blue footsteps on the floor which led him to an elevator and the 18th floor. The sign on the elevator said _MD. K. Lundberg, neurosurgeon_. Lundberg? He narrowed his eyes. The letter on the sign was in black and side longed. Maybe the doctor was a foreigner? What was he doing here?

An elderly woman sat behind a reception desk as he walked out of the elevator. She had a granny look to her that was comforting, but it couldn't be heard in her voice. "Mr. Jensen?" She asked in a raspy voice, like she had been to a rock concert. Adam nodded. Her name badge said: D. Smith. She had platinum blond hair, light eyes that looked augmented, and was dressed in a Caribbean-inspired shirt and a grey pencil skirt. "Please take a seat on the sofas over there. Dr. Lundberg will be here shortly."

Talking about things wasn't going to change anything. The doctor would be late, but Adam looked around as he walked over to a sofa. The office looked new, very modern and weirdly relaxing. A big room with high ceilings, big windows overlooking Detroit subs. His heart quickened at the sight of a woman who came out of the elevator a few moments after him. She looked at him and suddenly stopped. "Mr. Jensen?" she asked, and Adam nodded once from the sofa. The woman had small, but firmed curls in her dark brown hair that went a little longer then her shoulders. She wore blue scrubs that were loose around her chest and waist and with sleeves stopping right at her elbows. Adam could see that her figure was slim due to the way her matching blue pants curved around her thighs, but it was in a good way. Maybe she worked out? There was something breathtaking about her. She didn't wear a lot of make-up and was only wearing a thin bracelet made of gold and pearl earrings. Adam didn't want to admit it to himself, but she was attractive.

After regaining her composure, the woman walked over to the receptionist and handed over two light green folders and they exchanged professional smiles with each other. "Please file these for me, Diana, and please move my meeting with Mr. Sarif. I won't be able to make lunch on Friday and…" She sighed. "Please call Mr. T's office about the dinner next month. I don't know if I will be able to make it," the brunette said, and the elder woman nodded. "And please call Dr. Philips about the congress paper and say that I am too busy."

"Anything else?" the receptionist asked with a smile as she wrote on a little notepad. Writing notes on paper? It had been a long time since Adam had experienced that, but he could see that she enjoyed her job.

"No, I think that covers it. Thanks, Diana." The woman smiled briefly, giving the desk a pat on the surface before facing the cyborg. Her smile suddenly faded, but she pulled herself together and walked over to him, raising her hand towards him. "Mr. Jensen. Welcome. I'm Katherine Lundberg, your new neurogenic physician." Surprised, he stood up from the black leather sofa and they shook hands. "Please, come in," she invited him into her office, holding a glass door for him. He hesitated for a moment but walked in after a heart beat or two. _A woman?_ Adam felt a little surprised that he was going to talk to a female doctor.

"Thank you," he simply said. The next room was very simple but again very modern. A glass wall dominated the end of the room, allowing the sunlight to stream in. _She must like natural light_, Adam thought as he retracted his shades. There was also a sofa area for consultations, a desk in front of the glass wall with a laptop and a vase of fresh flowers. The design of the room had clear lines and was showered with light.

"Mr. Jensen?" The doctor said and Adam snapped out of his state of mind. "Please take a seat. I will be right there." She raised her hand towards a dark red chair across her desk and he walked over and sat down. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"Water, please." He hadn't noticed that he was thirsty, but it was a hot day after all and he hadn't taken his coat off. The sound of water being poured into glasses echoed in the silent room. He suddenly wondered where she was from. Her accent didn't sound from Detroit or even American. There was something British over it, but he wasn't certain.

"Here you go." She gave him a glass of ice water and sat opposite him. She reached for an A5 format notebook and a simple black ballpoint pen. "First, I would like to apologize for being late," she started as her gaze met Adam's.

He nodded, accepting her apology. "Where are you from?" Adam asked suddenly, finding himself curious. "I can't place your accent."

She gave him a professional smile. "I'm from Denmark."

He narrowed his eyes. _Denmark… Where in the world is that?_ Adam thought.

She smiled at his reaction. "It is in northern Europe," she said, and the ex-SWAT gazed at her. Could she read his thoughts? No, it was just his imagination. "While requirements to become a physician differ from country to country, all require a medical degree," she said, and turned in her seat.

"So, you are a doctor?" he asked, trying not to put any irony into the sentence. There were diplomas hanging on the walls from different Universities. The oldest was diploma was proof of a medical degree from The University of Southern in Denmark. The next from The Department of Neuroscience from King's College in England and finally from America was a degree from NYU in Neurosurgery with a specialty in augmentations and enhancement surgeries. _Wow_, Adam thought. _She is a smart one_. The ex-SWAT wasn't into the whole science prospect of the world, but could admire people who did what they were good at. Under the diplomas hung pictures of her with different people, but Adam only recognized one. Bill Taggart.

She smiled again. "Yes, I am." She answered short, making it difficult to hide her amusement over his comment.

Adam nodded as he returned to reality. Was she finding him amusing? "So, you are a surgeon?" He suddenly thought of Bill Taggart, the founder of the pro-humanist group Humanity Front. After returning from the Highland Park FEMA complex, Adam had found Taggart in Sarif's penthouse, along with his bodyguards and personal aide, Isaias Sandoval. Taggart had confronted Jensen directly, claimed that he wished to speak with him as well as condemn the violent actions of Purity First, and attempted to psychoanalyze him. Adam had either listened to his claims that augmentation is endangering the human race, or wanted to confront him about the Purity First incident. He had told Adam that he was a psychologist.

"Yes, I am a neurosurgeon," she said politely, answering his question. The doctor placed her head to one side, making her hair slide gently down her shoulder as she sensed his discomfort. "Is something wrong, Mr. Jensen?"

Neuro… Megan had a degree in neuroscience as well. His ex-girlfriend had moved to France around 2012, where she graduated in Neurology & Psychology. He suddenly realized that it was the word that gave him a nasty taste in his mouth. "No," he lied to the doctor and broke eye contact. This woman had nothing to do with Megan.

"Mr. Jensen. A neurosurgeon or neurological surgeon has the medical speciality concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system," she said matter-of-factly. "I have specialized myself in treating people who are augmented or have had enhancement surgery. I can't, however, hide that I was surprised when I received your file from your doctor here yesterday. He recommended that I take your case." She was a little bossy, but Adam didn't mind. She didn't know, of course, that it wasn't her that gave him a bad taste in his mouth, but he did narrow his eyes at the last comment.

"Why is that?" Adam asked, not moving, and it seemed that time stopped.

_To have a second world continue..._


End file.
